In a co op hsg soc, can spouse become office bearers

This answer is according to the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies (MCS) Act:
Induction of Spouse as an Associate Member: Under the MCS Act there is a provision to induct a Associate Member under section 154B-1 of latest amended MCS Act, An associate member means husband, wife, father, mother, daughter, son ... a person duly admitted to the Membership of society on *written recommendation of a Member of society to exercise rights and duties of such recommending Member when the associate member does not have his/her name on the share certificate of the society.

Associate Member to contest election: According to section 154B-10 an Associate Member can on written consent of original Member can contest election to become member of committee.

Thus to conclude the husband must first become associate members of the society on written recommendation of the wife (who is the original member) and then on written consent of the wife, the husband can contest elections.

In case your society does not come under the jurisdiction of Maharashtra State, one of the option is that your wife must contest the election but then the wife can execute a power of attorney in favour of the husband for executing the role of a committee member which is her liability. Although this may not be the best solution, you would need consent of all members of the society and do consult an expert in this case.

Do check all the bye-laws of the society, other rules and regulations made to be sure of the legality of such an action in both the above cases/solutions.

An Associate Member has similar rights in a co-operative housing society as the Original Member, albeit there are some exceptions and written consent of the Original Member is required with respect to certain actions

According to Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act 1960 – “Associate member” means a member who holds jointly a share of a society with others, but whose name does not stand first in the share certificate

Model bye-laws clearly state that an Associate Member shall have any rights or privileges of an active member with some exceptions in the voting procedure.

He has all the other rights as the member, such as the right to attend general/special/annual body meetings, the right to transfer shares, exchange and sublet apartments/housing units, the right to voice their opinion in the general meetings about maintenance charges, other relevant issues, file grievances against other members who are breaching the byelaws, etc.

If the original member does not want to contest the election, with his written consent or no-objection letter, the associate member can stand as a candidate in the election and be part of the managing committee, provided his name follows the original member in the share certificate. If a member is not listed in the share certificate, he/she has no right to vote or contest an election.

An associate member may vote and take part in elections but cannot hold office in a cooperative society where his name appears on the register as an associate member, according to Rule 56 M of the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Rules, 1961, and Section 2 (19) (b) of the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act, 1960.

The state cooperative election authority (SCEA) indicated in November 2014 that associate members could vote and participate in elections, but it remained unclear if they could challenge the election of office holders.

The SCEA has since clarified that associate members of a housing society are eligible to serve on the managing committee. Old cooperative housing societies will benefit from this since more inhabitants will be able to get involved in the day-to-day operations of their housing society.